DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum (C) checks a mobile as he tours the Middle East's largest technology exhibition, GITEX, in Dubai 04 October 2004. The fair's first two hours drew 3,000 visitors, up 35 percent on the same time last year. This year's Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) has 21 pavilions and has attracted 930 exhibitors from 41 countries, 20 percent more than last year, with 2,428 companies participating.

Camel racing, the oldest and most venerated sport in the Middle East, is a draw for some of the region's wealthiest sheiks, whose stables compete for grandiose prizes. Hidden behind lavish spectacles, however, is a disturbing reality. The tiny jockeys who compete in these races are victims of a horrible slave trade, all young boys who have been kidnapped or sold into slavery as mere infants. In addition to enduring inhumane living conditions and beatings, the boys are intentionally starved to keep their weight down. Weak from undernourishment, some are maimed or killed while trying to pilot the 1500-pound camels. Using hidden cameras, REAL SPORTS travels to the United Arab Emirates for a special expanded report on the perilous lives of camel jockeys and the pitiless human traffickers that exploit them. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg interviews John Miller, a State Department ambassador at large, to determine whether the U.S. government is doing enough to stop the practice in this tense political climate.

Correspondent: Bernard Goldberg.

The human rights advocacy group Anti-Slavery International provided assistance on this story. To learn more about their work on the child camel jockey issue, visit their website at antislavery.org.</B>

(LOUISVILLE, Ky., October 22nd, 2004) -- A major player in thoroughbred racing is accused of crimes against humanity. WAVE 3 Investigator Connie Leonard reports.

Sheikh Mohammed and his brothers make up Godolfin Racing. "They are the heart of one of the major racing operations in the world," said John Asher, Vice President of Communications for Churchill Downs.

But it is Sheikh Mohammad who is singled out by HBO's "Real Sports" and its three-month hidden camera investigation. Sheikh Mohammad is the owner of countless thoroughbreds and two Kentucky horse farms.

At the September Keeneland sale, Sheikh Mohammad spent more than $29 million on 40 yearlings. He has also had four entries in the Kentucky Derby.

But as much as the richest crown prince loves horse racing, there is another sport, he may love more: camel racing in his United Arab Emirates.

The "Real Sports" investigation is now pointing the finger at Sheikh Mohammad as the man behind the kidnapping and abuse of children for use as camel jockeys.

The report found boys as young as 3 and 4 years old, kidnapped from their families or sold in slave trades from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

While the UAE says no jockeys are younger than 15 years of age, a photographer working for HBO found 3-year-old children strapped onto camels in 110 degree heat before police discovered his camera.

With hidden cameras rolling trainers show the barbwire camp the boys live in and say if they don't work to loose weight they are sometimes tied-up to chains and even beaten.

"When he hit me over here, blood came out," said one child, who obliged when asked to display the wound on his back.

The HBO crew walked in on three trainers with small jockeys and were told two of the boys were their "lovers."

"I was raped while I was sleeping," said another child.

Sheikh Mohammad's camels -- like his horses -- receive daily pampering in pools and the finest medical treatment, while the young jockeys heal from camel falls, their stomachs sometimes slit wide open.

For now, Asher says Churchill Downs is taking a wait and see stance. "If the State Department does look into the allegations out there and recommend some kind of action or make some formal statement, I think that's when we decide what to do and we give some serious thought to that."

State Department officials called the video from the HBO investigation appalling and they tell WAVE 3 News they will continue to investigate

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: This handout picture released by the United Arab Emirates' official news agency WAM shows Dubai's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktum (R) shaking hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) looks on as Emirati official receive condolences 04 November 2004 in Abu Dhabi over the death of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, who died two days ago. Sheikh Zayed, the founding father and head of state of the seven-member UAE federation since its formation in 1971, was buried yesterday and his eldest son, Sheikh Khalifa, was named to take his place

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri (L), US President Bill Clinton (C), and Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum attend the opening of the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai. The three-day Arab Strategy Forum, convening under the theme "The Arab World in 2020," will look into the challenges and opportunities facing the region, which sits on huge oil reserves and is the home of major hotspots.

Polfoto 13-12-2004 From left to right, Lebanon former Prime Minister, Rafiq Al Hariri, former President of the United States Bill Clinton and Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defense Minister smile as they listen to the welcoming speech during the opening session of Arab Strategy Forum, The Arab World in 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday Dec. 13, 2004.

mo's daughter's fiance (manal bint mo). he is a sheikh from abu dhabi and the guy hugging mo in that pic. his job is something naff like 'presidential advisor' the only thing he could possibly advise on is how to marry into the rival family and make it all look nice nice from the outside.